1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for a communications framework, and more particularly to a system and method for an integrated communications framework that integrates disparate communication modes onto a common platform.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Until recently, general communications between individuals have been confined to the public switched telephone network (“PSTN”), also referred to as the plain old telephone system (“POTS”), as the main communication mode. With advancements in computer and wireless communication technologies, other forms of communication, such as electronic mail (“email”) and instant messaging (“IM”), are now just as prevalent, if not more than the telephone. While many forms of communication may provide convenience to a user by providing different options, multiple forms of communication also mean the user must track the contact information for each type of communication mode separately. This is because each communication mode are disparate systems that require a separate user interface (“UI”) for establishing the communication channel. For example, to make a telephone call, the user must use a telephone or a similar device (i.e., one that has a speaker and a microphone) connected to a PSTN and input a telephone number to make a connection to the other party. To send an email, the user must invoke an email application on a computing device connected to an email server and input an email address to send and receive emails. To send an instant text message, the user must have access to an IM device connected to an IM server and input an IM identifier to send and receive instant text messages.
Due to the disparate nature of each of these communication modes, managing contact information also becomes inefficient. In general, a typical user will have a telephone director, an email contact directory, and an instant messaging directory separately. While computer based contact applications consolidates the contact information onto a single format (e.g., electronic address books), these applications are typically only a “phone book” style application. In other words, the application only stores the contact information. The user must transfer the required information into the proper communication mode UI to initiate the communication. For example, a typical directory application on a personal computer (“PC”) platform stores a person's contact information, such as phone number and email address. While some applications allow users to invoke an email application for even an IM application by clicking on the email or IM identifier displayed in the contact information, the user must punch in the telephone number, for example, into a telephone to initiate a telephone call.
With advancements in wireless device technology, many personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), cell phones, and pocket PCs have electronic contact lists built into the devices. Because these devices have telephony capabilities as well as text data capabilities, the user can initiate telephonic or text-based communications from these devices. However, these devices, while convenient, have limited computing capabilities because these devices are primarily for establishing communications. Accordingly, a user must have a separate device for computing purposes (e.g., PC) in addition to these communication devices. Moreover, these communication devices require specialized applications to be built into the devices. Accordingly, a contact list from one device cannot be transferred to a different device very easily.
Another recent attempt at integrating these communication modes onto a common platform has been based on voice-over-internet protocol (“VoIP”) technology. VoIP devices convert analog voice signals into digitized data packets that are then sent over the Internet like any other data packets. Accordingly, a PC many be used as a telephone as well as the typical email and IM device. However, VoIP capability requires specialized applications as well as specialized hardware, in some cases. Moreover, each PC must be installed with the specialized software/hardware in order to implement such integration.